The present invention relates generally to a servo signal processing apparatus which processes servo information read from a servo area of a recording medium, and a recorded data reading apparatus.
While there has been a demand to increase memory capacity for magnetic disk devices, there has also been a demand for making such devices more compact. There has further been a demand to increase the data reading and writing speeds for such devices. To fulfill those demands, it is necessary to improve the efficiency of formatting magnetic disks and to reduce the circuit scale of a read channel IC, which is used in a recorded data reproducing apparatus.
In a conventional recorded data reproducing apparatus, analog data, which has been read via a head from a recording medium, is output to a read channel processor (hereinafter called "read channel IC"). The read channel IC has a data signal processor and a servo signal processor. The data signal processor is provided to acquire data information (user data) stored in a area of the disk. The data signal processor converts a read signal, input via a filter, to a digital signal and outputs the digital signal as user data.
The servo signal processor acquires information, such as head position information and head moving speed, from servo information stored in a servo area on the disk. The servo signal processor detects a peak position in accordance with a peak detection system. More specifically, the servo signal processor detects the peak position of the read signal, input via the filter, which has a level equal to or greater than a predetermined value set in an associated register. The servo signal processor checks the interval between detected peaks using an MPU (Micro Processor Unit) located outside the IC. Then, the servo signal processor determines whether the occasional read signal has a value of "1" or "0", as well as detects a servo mark and reads a gray code.
When detecting the servo mark, the servo signal processor converts the read servo information to digital data. The servo signal processor then outputs the digital data to an arithmetic operation unit, such as a DSP located outside the IC. The arithmetic operation unit performs computations, such as a complex operation on the input digital information to calculate position information or the like. The computed information is converted to an analog signal, which is in turn sent to a head driver, which controls and moves the head accordingly.
Because the servo signal processor determines if the occasional read signal has a value of "1" or "0", based on the interval between the detected peaks, the detection of a peak position becomes difficult as the interval between the detected peaks is narrowed. Maintaining as interval between the detected peaks, therefore, stands in the way of improving the recording density of the servo area and increasing the density of a disk.
Further, the read channel IC requires ten or more bits of data to be transferred in order to precisely control the read head. Therefore, the read channel IC is equipped with terminals (ten or more) for transferring multiple bits data and an interface circuit for transferring the multiple data to the DSP. The multiple terminals and the large-scale interface circuit inevitably increase the chip area of the read channel IC, which results in an increase in the manufacturing cost of ICs and reduces the data transfer speed.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a servo signal processing apparatus and a recorded data reading apparatus, which are capable of improving the density of a recording medium.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a servo signal processing apparatus and a recorded data reading apparatus, which can speed up the processing of servo information read from a recording medium.